


The Councillor's Anomaly

by mewrose



Series: Cat Chat [6]
Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Supernatural Stalking, weird cognitive psience stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27655963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mewrose/pseuds/mewrose
Summary: Less than a week into the new year, Maruki realizes there’s someone who is not acting as expected. Even more surprising, he can’t figure out what this unfamiliar person wants.
Series: Cat Chat [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1813609
Comments: 37
Kudos: 136





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place during Persona 5 Royal's third semester, so there will be Royal spoilers within. It also takes place within my Cat Chat series, so Yu's behavior may not make sense unless you read Cat o' Nine Tales first. Or you can read this on its own and be just as confused as Maruki. :)
> 
> I'd originally intended for this to be a one-shot in Curiosity Killed the Cat, but decided to split it off into its own fic due to the significant Royal spoilers, and also because I keep getting ideas for new scenes.

Maruki wasn’t too surprised when he realized Amamiya was resisting the actualization.

The young man had always been bright and perceptive, inspiring enlightening ideas on how the cognitive world worked. Perhaps such insight was born simply of his natural intelligence, or perhaps it was gleaned from his work as a Phantom Thief. Regardless, his assistance was invaluable in bringing Maruki’s research to fruition. So if there was anyone who ended up being more lightly influenced by the actualization that permeated Tokyo, it made sense for it to be him.

The fact that Akechi also resisted was unusual, but he was an unusual young man in many respects. Seeing that Yoshizawa had also noticed something was different in the actualized world was certainly a surprise, but perhaps the fact that she was one of the first successful recipients of an actualization meant that she had some resistance to further changes. 

Or perhaps it had to do with Amamiya’s influence, considering that the three of them were able to enter Maruki’s lab and could wield similar abilities. This theory was further supported by the observation that as Amamiya spoke to each of his other friends, they all began to question the actualized wishes they were presented with. Maruki dearly wished that Amamiya would leave things be and let his friends be happy, but he respected the young man’s wish to choose, and hoped to peacefully convince him to accept the actualization.

Still, outside of Amamiya’s little pocket of influence, the rest of the city was running smoothly. Everyone was happy, anyone who was unsatisfied was guided to the lab to have their worries soothed and their dreams manifested, and all was well. Until Maruki sensed a small disturbance somewhere in the city. 

The counselor had a constant, background awareness encompassing everywhere that his actualization had reached. To his senses, the actualization was like a finely woven fabric that spread out over the city. When all was running as it should, the fabric was smooth and even beneath his metaphorical fingertips. When there was a spot of dissatisfaction, it felt like a small snag or knot, and with a little attention he could smooth it back into the weave again.

However, this new disturbance felt like nothing he’d encountered in the several days since the blanket actualization had fully taken hold. This felt like a thread had gotten caught on something, and he couldn’t figure out how to untangle it in order to smooth it out. Puzzled, he decided to head to the sight of the disturbance for a closer look.

Within the area of his actualization, Maruki was able to project his awareness to a particular location in order to examine it more closely. His physical body did not move, so it was something like astral projection, though he preferred to think of it as a cognitive projection. He found it handy to be able to check on the finer workings of the city without having to physically travel there, since eliminating travel time allowed him to respond to situations quickly and left him more time to continue his work.

When he projected himself to the site of the disturbance, he found himself in Jinbocho. At first glance, there appeared to be nobody in any distress, so he followed the thread of the disturbance.

It led him to a cat. 

Initially Maruki assumed he’d made some sort of mistake. Not only could a cat not feel the kind of dissatisfaction that his actualization served to correct (aside from Morgana, but he was a special case), this particular cat was a cognition. In the old world, it had been run over by a car, leaving its young owner distraught. It was a simple matter to make everyone believe the accident had never happened and to populate the actualization with a cognition of the cat. A cognition could not be distressed, they were not designed that way.

But as he continued to monitor the cat, he noticed it was behaving oddly. It appeared to be trying to rub against the ankles of a young man who was standing outside of a bookstore, browsing the titles on display. Yet every time the cat tried to lean against the man, it passed right through him. It was functioning something like a computer glitch caught in a feedback loop; it attempted to perform an action, did not receive the expected result, and thus continued to attempt to perform the action. 

While unexpected, Maruki assumed it would be a simple fix. He attempted to correct the composition of that cognition so that it would interact with the environment properly. Yet he found that there was no fault in it, so it should be functioning correctly. Well, then perhaps the fault lay in the young man. Maruki attempted to focus on him in order to gauge his mental state.

He found he could get no sense of the man at all.

Shocked, Maruki turned the “eyes” of his projection onto the young man. He was tall, grey-haired and -eyed, approximately in his early 20s. All outward signs indicated he was alive and healthy. He was browsing the books just like every other customer around him, with only a mild look of discomfort on his face as the cat continued to try to rub against him. By all appearances, he was a normal human. But trying to get a sense of him was like trying to scan a statue; all he could sense was the surface appearance, with no hint of the man’s dreams or feelings.

Suddenly worried that his abilities were malfunctioning, Maruki cast his awareness around the area to try and sense the emotions of everyone in the vicinity. To his relief, he could read every other person on the street. They were all content, enjoying a pleasant day of shopping, though a number of them were starting to notice the cat’s strange behavior and were becoming confused or mildly distubed. If that kept up for any longer, it could have an adverse effect on their mental state. 

Well, that would not do. He quickly fixed the issue by causing the cat to abruptly ignore the young man and walk away, then smoothing over the cognitions of everyone in the area so that they believed nothing unusual had occurred. He took a moment to make sure that everyone had settled back into their daily routine, then turned his attention back to the young man.

Who was now staring straight at him.

Maruki was briefly startled, but quickly reasoned that the man must be looking at something behind him. Still, it was somewhat disturbing to have someone looking his way when he wasn’t really there, so he drifted his projection off to one side, out of the man’s way.

The man turned his head to follow the projection. When Maruki floated the projection up into the air, the man’s gaze continued to follow him, craning his head back to keep “sight” of him.

Maruki abruptly returned his awareness to his body, trying to tell himself it was simply because he’d completed what he had set out to do. The disturbance had been cleared up, and when he ran his senses over the actualization in the vicinity of Jinbocho, everything felt smooth and normal. There was no feeling of distress, nor of any other irregularity. 

What was that young man? He appeared to be a normal human, but unlike every other person in the city, it appeared Maruki’s abilities had no effect on him somehow. Moreover, it appeared he could sense Maruki’s presence when nobody else could do so, not even Amamiya. He was a mystery. An anomaly. 

There was as yet not enough information to ascertain the nature of this anomaly, or what it might mean for the actualization as a whole. But if Maruki was lacking in information, he would simply have to gather more, until he could begin to form a hypothesis. 

...But first he would need to figure out how to find the young man again.


	2. Chapter 2

Unlike the anomaly, all the Phantom Thieves were easy to keep track of, particularly once they had all shaken off the actualization’s influence. They were each a tight little knot of discontent that Maruki could locate from anywhere. Although they had chosen to reject the peace he had offered them, Maruki was still concerned for their wellbeing, and checked in on them from time to time. 

It was particularly notable when all of them gathered in one place, such as before they came to explore his lab. When they were all together, they’d often reinforce each other’s dissatisfaction, which made them stand out even more. On one occasion he sensed them all starting to gather, and decided to check in on them. When it seemed they had all arrived, he projected himself to near their location.

It was no great surprise to find himself in Yongen-jaya, in an alley near cafe Leblanc, which he could sense all of the Thieves inside. It was logical that they’d gather at Amamiya’s residence, particularly since it was a cafe and teens were always hungry. He was about to phase through the wall to look in on them when he noticed something unexpected.

Walking down the alley towards the cafe was the anomaly. He appeared not to notice Maruki, even though his projection was standing between the approaching man and the cafe. This appeared to be a perfect opportunity. He could follow the unknown individual around to gather more information on him. 

But although Maruki waited for the man to walk by, he instead paused briefly, right in front of the projection. The man glanced sidelong at him and said in a low voice, “Leave these kids alone,” then continued on toward the cafe. 

So instead of following him right away, Maruki hesitated. The man went inside the building, a number of voices calling out to greet him as the door swung closed. From what Maruki could sense, the only people in the cafe were the Phantom Thieves, along with Akechi and Yoshizawa (he wasn’t sure yet if they counted among the Thieves). Did that mean the anomaly was a Phantom Thief as well? At the very least, they appeared to know him.

He did wish to head inside the cafe and find out more about the man and his relationship with the Thieves. And yet...there was no doubt that the man had spoken to _him_ specifically. Being called out when there wasn’t supposed to be anyone to address was, admittedly, a little unsettling. 

Logically, there should be nothing to worry about even if Maruki did choose to look in on the group. He didn’t think the man would actually be able to do anything to him, since there was nothing substantial about his projection to interact with. Then again, there was nothing substantial about his projection to see, either. He eventually decided that due to insufficient data, he should exercise caution and stay back for now.

A short time later, the Phantom Thieves traveled to Maruki’s lab to continue exploring it. Maruki noted that the anomaly was not with them. So perhaps he was not a Phantom Thief after all.

* * *

About a week later, Maruki noticed the Phantom Thieves were gathering again. He was considering whether to try checking in on them again when he felt a sharp spike of distress coming from someone. He quickly focused on the person and identified them immediately: Akechi. The young man had always had particularly volatile emotions, and it was not uncommon for him to experience a sudden surge of discontent. But this was far stronger than usual. Fearing something had happened to the boy, Maruki projected himself to his location.

He was in Yongen-jaya again, a couple of blocks from where the other Thieves had gathered. Akechi was standing on the sidewalk, apparently speaking to someone. Maruki just had time to notice a familiar head of grey hair before the person turned to look straight at him.

Akechi yelled at the anomaly, who held up a hand for quiet and said, “We're being watched. And I'm not going to say another word until they leave."

Maruki hesitated a moment in the face of this unknown factor, but he couldn’t bear to do nothing when someone was so intensely distressed. He focused on Akechi to get a better understanding of his mental state. The boy was angry, which was not unusual. He was frustrated and somewhat confused, which was less common. And he was afraid, which seemed to occur more often than he would care to admit. Yet this fear was far stronger than normal, and seemed to be the core of what had suddenly upset him so much. 

Worried that the anomaly was threatening him, Maruki delved deeper to understand what Akechi was afraid of, and what he wanted most at this moment. It turned out he...wanted to understand the nature of his existence?

This baffled Maruki. That was a fairly deep philosophical question, which certainly could inspire some strong emotions if considered seriously, but it was not something that would normally make a person so afraid. There also wasn’t an easy way to grant such a wish. It wasn’t a person or object that could be granted, a lifestyle he wished to have, or a negative behavior that he wanted changed. It was a piece of information he wanted to know, and not one with a straightforward answer.

...It was hard to focus on how he might fix this when he was still being stared at. Whether or not the anomaly could do anything, being watched was not pleasant. Perhaps he should think about how to help Akechi later and work on gathering information about the anomaly instead.

Maruki started by backing his projection away, trying to gauge if there was a limit to the range in which the anomaly could track him. Not surprisingly, moving in a straight line elicited no reaction or change in focus. So he started ducking behind different obstructions, like walls or vehicles, to see if the anomaly could still track him. The young man followed every movement with his eyes, until he was near the limit of what the projection could “see.”

Well then, preliminary evidence suggested that the anomaly could see a projection anywhere within the range of normal human vision. Then again, considering he had turned to look at the projection as soon as it appeared, perhaps his sense of the projection was not limited to sight. More information was needed to see what the range of that other sense might be.

Maruki returned his awareness to himself, intending to return the projection to the area a short while later, at a greater distance and in a different location. But moments after he left, he sensed Akechi moving away. Maruki kept his focus on the boy, wondering if the anomaly was with him. Were they heading to join the Phantom Thieves immediately, or would he have another chance to look in on them?

Akechi did head towards the Thieves, but paused before reaching them. Maruki expected he’d have the opportunity to check in on him after all and started to decide when and where he should project himself, but then he noticed Akechi’s emotions were shifting. The anger and frustration were ebbing, even as the fear stayed high. Curious, Maruki waited a bit to see what would happen.

Akechi’s emotions continued to ebb for a couple moments, then spiked briefly, before anger started to ebb again more slowly, even as fear grew. Then suddenly all the negative emotions dropped dramatically, fear fastest of all, accompanied by a rising feeling of relief.

...What could have possibly happened? What did the anomaly do? Did he have some sort of ability to alter someone’s mental state as well, or did he simply talk philosophy until Akechi found a solution he was content with?

Well, regardless, the boy’s emotions were now evening out to his normal range, so his acute distress from before was resolved. Maruki could leave him be for now while he considered how he might figure out what had happened. 

A short time later the Thieves returned to the lab, and as before, the anomaly was not with them. Perhaps he could use this chance to examine their mental state. 

But once he began, he reflected that perhaps this wasn’t the best time to check on them. For every one of the Phantom Thieves, their greatest desire was currently to steal his Treasure. There were variations, of course; Amamiya wanted to lead his team well and ensure they came to no harm, Yoshizawa wanted to prove that she could keep up with the others, and Sakamoto mostly wanted to hit stuff. As for Akechi, he had an almost all-consuming need to stop anyone who would try to control him. It was perhaps preferable to being overwhelmed by existential dread, though Maruki feared this might lead to self-destructive tendencies.

In the end, the day’s events left Maruki with more questions than answers. He might have to become a bit more proactive in looking for more information on the anomaly, and how he was affecting those around him.


	3. Chapter 3

After realizing that there was at least one person in the city who he couldn’t sense, Maruki began to fear that there were other gaps in his awareness. As a result, he took to checking in around the city, sending his projection to random places to observe, get a clearer sense of the people in an area, and see if anyone needed his help. He did sometimes find people who were experiencing a more subtle sense of dissatisfaction than he would typically notice through his usual passive awareness of the city. He was glad he was able to catch these people before they grew too upset, and he would either ease their concerns or direct them to his lab for more targeted assistance.

On one such outing, he had just projected himself to the Shibuya crossing when he spotted the anomaly again. A familiar head of grey hair wove through the crowd on the opposite side of the square, neither heading towards nor away from Maruki. The projection floated up into the air, the better to see above the crowd and keep an eye on the young man. The individual in question seemed not to react to Maruki at all, and soon slipped into the stairway to the underground mall and out of sight.

Maruki wanted to chase after him, to follow him down the stairs and see what he was doing, where he was going, who he was interacting with. Yet caution made him hesitate. He would prefer to watch from a distance for now, gather more information and build a better picture of the man before trying to approach him again. At a great enough distance, there was still a chance that the young man might not be aware of his presence. But in the underground hallways and stores, he would likely have to get quite close to the anomaly to keep track of him. So he reluctantly decided to bide his time for now, and turned back to observing the general populace. He did, however, make a point of making more frequent visits to Shibuya and the surrounding areas. 

As the days passed, Maruki managed to spot the anomaly several more times; browsing the stores on Central Street, or riding a bus through the city, or exiting the campus of Tokyo University. Maruki kept his distance at first, but when the young man showed no reaction, he began to move closer. It became evident that the anomaly was purposely ignoring him when the projection had to move nearly within arm’s length before the young man so much as glanced at him. It seemed Maruki would have a difficult time trying to gauge the limit of his awareness. 

Still, if the anomaly was keeping to himself, then that meant Maruki could observe him freely. He began to follow the young man any time he had the opportunity, to see what he was doing and how he interacted with the world. It quickly became evident that the anomaly was intentionally avoiding interacting with any cognitions, or with any inanimate objects that were generated as part of the actualization. Whenever a cognition did happen to bump into him in a crowd (Maruki may have deliberately directed a cognition to do so a time or two), it passed right through him, just like the cat had.

On the other hand, he appeared to be able to interact with the old world. On one occasion, the anomaly was looking at something on his phone while absentmindedly heading into a store, but appeared to run head-first into an invisible wall. He staggered back a step, stopped, stared at the perfectly open doorway, then turned and headed down the street. Dimly Maruki recognized that before the actualization, that store had been recently closed and locked up, but in the actualized world it was still open.

Maruki decided that further investigation into how the anomaly interacted with the actualization was warranted. He got his chance to experiment when he spotted the young man at a set of artificial fishing ponds in Ichigaya. Nearby there was a family who had come to spend the afternoon at the pond, one of which was the cognition of a young woman who had passed away in a train accident some months back. 

Maruki watched the scene for a time. The anomaly was at one end of a long pond, and the family was near the middle on the same side. There were not many people visiting the attraction that day, so it would not be unusual for what he decided to try. 

He waited until the father of the family had caught a particularly large fish. After it had been reeled in and measured, Maruki directed the cognition to say, “Wow Dad, that’s your best one yet! We need to get a family photo of this!” Then had her pull out her cell phone, look around, then run over to the anomaly, who was the closest person. “Hey, excuse me! Could you take a picture of us?”

The young man glanced up at her, then back down at the pond, where he was in the middle of trying to reel in a fish. “Sorry, I’m busy with this,” he informed her. He appeared to be struggling with his catch, although Maruki knew for a fact that none of his previous catches had given him anything close to this difficulty. 

“Aw, please?” the cognition begged sweetly, still holding out the phone. “I don’t mind waiting a moment.”

The man’s reel slipped as the fish tugged itself farther away. “This might take a bit,” he said, not looking at the young woman. “You should probably ask someone else before your fish suffocates.” And indeed, the family was calling for the girl to come back and take the picture quickly. Trying to push the issue would do nobody any good, so Maruki allowed the cognition to head back to her family. 

As soon as her attention was off him, the young man swiftly reeled in the fish, let it go, and gathered his things to leave. On his way out of the pond enclosure, the anomaly cast a displeased look at Maruki’s projection, who was watching from near the exit.

So the struggle with the fish was all an act, likely to avoid interacting with the cognition without drawing any attention to himself. But the exchange did prove that he could clearly hear and respond to cognitions. He appeared to see them just fine as well, as long as his attention was not divided. Maruki filed this information away, though he still wasn’t sure what to do with it yet.

* * *

Despite watching him for some time, Maruki was unable to find any personal information about the anomaly. He did not utter his name in Maruki’s presence, nor did he spot the young man at a personal residence. He was always out and about in public places, and while Maruki did come to recognize some of his hobbies, that was not enough information to track him down.

A breakthrough came when Maruki was checking in on the students at Tokyo University. Attending university could be a stressful experience, and young adults around that age could have particularly volatile emotions, so he liked to pay particular attention to the students from time to time. His projection was hovering outside one of the class buildings, examining each classroom through the windows, when he spotted a familiar figure sitting at a desk by a window. 

Maruki floated closer, and noticed the anomaly immediately glanced at him, though he quickly returned his attention to the professor lecturing at the front of the room. The projection hovered outside the window, watching for the entire rest of the class session. The young man looked slightly uncomfortable the whole time, but did nothing besides listen and take notes. As soon as the class ended, he swiftly packed up his possessions and only gave Maruki one very annoyed look before leaving the room.

This was Maruki’s chance to get more information about the young man. He only had to focus on the professor for an instant to learn the woman’s name, and find that she would be in her office for the next hour. He returned his awareness to his body and immediately set out for the university to speak to her in person.

In short order he was politely knocking on the open door of the woman’s office, saying, “Pardon me, might I have a moment of your time?”

The woman was in the middle of grading papers, but readily turned to greet him. “Certainly, what can I help you with?” she asked him.

There was really no way to phrase the inquiry in a way that could not be perceived as suspicious, so he gently influenced the woman to believe he had innocent intentions as he asked, “I’m looking for information on someone in one of your classes, a tall young man with grey hair.”

That was the only identifier he needed to give before the woman’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you mean Narukami-kun!”

Finally, Maruki had a name to put to the face he’d seen so often. He had thought it was somewhat rude to keep thinking of the young man as “the anomaly,” but he’d had little else to call him. Being careful to maintain a casual demeanor, he asked, “Yes, what was his first name?”

“Yu. Yu Narukami,” she answered promptly. And without further urging, she went on, “He’s a brilliant student, so dedicated and hardworking. He never hesitates to help his fellow students if any of them ask him for assistance with classwork, either. I’m certain he’ll do something amazing someday.”

Maruki could tell her praise was genuine, she thought very highly of Narukami. While it was interesting to hear an assessment of his character, that still told Maruki nothing new about the young man’s abilities. So he asked the professor, “Have you noticed any unusual behaviour from him lately?”

That made the woman pause. She was puzzled, but considered the question seriously before answering, “Not that I can think of. Is there any particular behaviour you’re referring to?”

Maruki briefly considered how Narukami’s actions might look to others before answering, “Like reacting to things that aren’t there, or suddenly avoiding certain people, something like that.”

The woman thought for a moment more before shaking her head, “No I can’t say I’ve noticed anything like that. He’s been just the same as always in class.”

“I see,” Maruki answered. “Well, I was looking for someone in particular, but perhaps he’s not the one I’m seeking. Thank you very much for your time.” He gave her a small bow, just to be extra polite.

“Oh, you’re quite welcome. I hope you find who you’re looking for,” the woman answered. Maruki smiled at her once more before turning to go. As he left, he subtly encouraged her to believe that the conversation was nothing unusual and should, in fact, just be forgotten. And certainly not mentioned to the student they had spoken about.

With a full name, Maruki was able to look into Narukami more thoroughly. The professor’s description of his academic prowess was quite accurate, since his grades were consistently excellent. His public records showed nothing of note, aside from the fact that as a child his family had apparently moved very frequently, but he’d been settled in Tokyo for years now. His course of study was nothing unusual; it’s not like he was studying cognitive psience or anything of the like.

If public records offered no clues, perhaps speaking to others who know him might prove fruitful. Maruki tracked down other professors, Narumaki’s landlord, and a few of his friends. Each one had similar things to say, all glowing praise: he was friendly, polite, helpful, hardworking, a good listener, a calming presence, and none had noticed any unusual behavior. He thanked them all for their time and made sure that none of them would mention the conversation to Narukami, just in case.

Even with solid information on the young man, Maruki was no closer to figuring out why Narukami appeared to be immune to all effects of the actualization. Maybe the only way to get the answers he sought was to speak to the young man himself. He did feel some trepidation at the thought, but Narukami had never done anything more than look at him in the past. Perhaps he could dare to be a little more bold in his investigation.


	4. Chapter 4

Maruki gave very careful consideration to the best way to approach Narukami. Should he speak to him in person? Arrange to speak through a proxy, such as a cognition? Or perhaps a phone call? It would not be difficult to get the young man’s phone number. 

Speaking to someone in person made it easier to build a rapport, but he was hesitant to try it. He still didn’t entirely know what Narukami was capable of, and Maruki’s physical body was ill-suited to defending himself, particularly outside of his lab. A phone call was probably the next-most personable method of contact, though there was always the chance that Narukami would just refuse to answer the phone. And would he even be willing to speak to a cognition, considering he tried to avoid them as much as possible?

While Maruki considered his options, he continued to keep an eye out for Narukami, trying to get a feel for his schedule in order to judge the best time and place to approach him. On one of his regular checks of Shibuya, Maruki spotted Narukami in the station. Then a moment later, Morgana approached him, and the two appeared to be chatting. Maruki was too far to hear what they were saying, and while he would love to listen in on the conversation, he expected that considering how busy the station was, he would have to get very close indeed to hear anything. No doubt Narukami would just stop talking before he got in earshot.

But he did manage to see something interesting. After the two conversed a bit, Morgana walked forward and seemed to disappear. Maruki could still sense the cat though, so after taking a moment to refocus his senses, he found the small Phantom Thief had entered the Metaverse, to the place the Thieves called Mementos. Maruki had spotted them entering the place a couple of times, but on each occasion, one of the human thieves had triggered something on their phones to get there. It was intriguing that Morgana didn’t need to do that.

Then Narukami began to step forward. Was he going to do the same as Morgana? Eager to get a good look, Maruki briskly scooted his projection closer. But as soon as he started to move, Narukami paused in mid-step and turned his head to scowl at the projection. 

Maruki froze, then promptly decided he’d be more likely to get more information if he backed off, so he started to retreat. As soon as he began to move away, Narukami faced forward again and resumed walking. Straight through the station wall.

...Was this like how he passed right through cognitions? But that wall had always been there, before and after the actualization. In any case, when Maruki looked into Mementos, he found Narukami had joined Morgana and the two appeared to have resumed their conversation. So apparently neither of them needed any outside help to enter the Metaverse. How fascinating. 

Maruki also noted that Morgana’s appearance had changed, as it always did in the Metaverse. Amamiya and the rest of the Phantom Thieves also experienced a change in outfits. However, Narukami looked the same as ever. Could that mean he didn’t have a Persona? Unless he just didn’t conform to the same conventions that the other Persona-users did. He was certainly breaking the mold in many other ways.

The projection continued to observe the pair for a little while longer, but they were simply sitting and talking, so he went back to monitoring the people in the square.

* * *

The next time he spotted Narukami was once again in the Shibuya square. Maruki decided to follow the young man for a while, so he had the projection draw closer. But much to Maruki’s surprise, as soon as he started to approach Narukami, the young man looked at him, sighed, then turned sharply and walked into the train station. 

It was unusual for Narukami to react to his presence. Moreover, why did Maruki’s approach prompt the man to head for that particular location? Curious, he continued to follow his subject of interest.

Narukami didn’t head for a train line, as Maruki might have expected. Instead, he turned down a side hallway, then walked straight through a wall. Perhaps he was going to Mementos again. It would probably be quite enlightening to see what he might do there. 

It took a moment for Maruki to shift his projection into Mementos. One there, he found Narukami had turned and was staring straight at him. Without any preamble, the young man said, “I don’t like being watched all the time. I’m not going to interfere with you, so I’d appreciate it if you give me the same courtesy.” 

...Well, this was not how Maruki expected this to go, but if Narukami was talking to him, then perhaps they could have the conversation he’d been hoping for. The doctor briefly considered making a cognition to speak for him, but he hadn’t made one out of nowhere before without someone’s memories to base it off of, and it would take him some time to manage it. So instead he just projected his voice.

He began, “My apologies if I’ve made you uncomfortable, but I’m just trying to understand you-”

“And that justifies stalking me?” Narukami interrupted.

Maruki was about to protest that he was doing no such thing, but he hesitated. Perhaps he had been a bit overzealous in his observations. But it had been for a good reason! ...He was _sure_ he had only the best of intentions.

When he didn’t answer right away, Narukami spoke up again, “Besides, you don’t need to understand me. I’m not one of your patients, so you have no reason to be prying into my life. And what would you even hope to achieve, anyway?”

That Maruki could answer easily. “I just want the same thing for you as I do for everyone else: to make you happy.”

“Well, you’re having the exact opposite effect,” Narukami said. He folded his arms and gave the projection a look that seemed...disappointed with him? Like a parent that had caught a child drawing on the walls.

Oh dear, that look was surprisingly effective in making Maruki want to justify what he was doing. A bit hurriedly, he explained, “I’m trying to figure out what it is you want. If you could tell me, I could make it happen. Anything at all is possible.”

Narukami didn’t let up his expression, and added a slow head shake to it. “You should know by now that I can see through any lies you try to spin in this false world.”

“They’re not lies!” Maruki protested. “I’m granting everyone’s wishes, making whatever they want so they can be happy.”

Narukami sighed. “Sometimes what people want isn’t the same as what they need. Honestly, if you know anything about psychology, you should know this already.”

Well...yes, sometimes that’s true. A self-destructive wish, for example, would not be one Maruki would grant. He had redirected people’s wishes before, inspired them to follow dreams he felt would make them happier. And whatever wish he eventually granted for a person did result in their happiness. 

“Besides,” Narukami continued, “if you’re in the business of granting wishes, then mine is very simple: not to be watched. I’ve been largely ignoring you because you haven’t done anything to me, but this is an invasion of privacy.”

This was not at all going the way Maruki wanted. He scrambled for a way to convince Narukami to tell more about himself, either his dreams or his abilities. Maybe he should back up and just try to establish a rapport? Was there a way he could turn the conversation to more mundane topics that might encourage the young man to confide in him?

When the silence stretched on too long, Narukami sighed again, then uncrossed his arms and shifted his bearing subtly, going from disappointed parent to the stance of someone standing their ground, shoulders back and head high. “You’ve heard what I want, so make it happen. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m perfectly capable of reaching where you are. If you don’t decide to leave me alone, I might decide to come make you.”

Then suddenly there was a surge of power emanating from the young man, waves of it rolling off him to lap at the walls around them, trailing faint flickers of blue. It felt somewhat similar to when the Phantom Thieves used their Personas, particularly Amamiya, but stronger. He’d never been able to feel this kind of raw strength coming from any of the young Persona-users. _What even was this man?_

Maruki felt frozen for a moment in the face of that overwhelming aura. Narukami apparently did not appreciate his silence, because he continued, “I don’t care if you have the power of a false god right now. I’ve put gods in their place before. And I’m not afraid to do it again if you don’t. Back. Off.” He emphasized the last three words with a pointed glare, his steel-gray eyes glinting like a drawn blade.

In any other situation, such a claim would seem empty or delusional. But in this moment, it felt not only possible, but highly likely that Narukami had faced off against gods before and came out the victor.

Maruki’s projection vanished without another word.

Back at his lab, Maruki had to take some time to compose himself. He was starting to feel fortunate that Narukami had left him alone for so long. With that kind of power, it seemed extremely likely that the enigmatic young man could do _something_ to Maruki, even through a projection. It was clear that the most prudent course of action was to do as he asked and stay away from him for now.

Maruki did continue to patrol the city as before, but he no longer actively sought out Narukami. Yet now, whenever he came across the young man by chance, the doctor found himself on the receiving end of a glower so sharp he could practically feel it, like a knife pressing against his neck. He started avoiding the places he’d seen Narukami the most, like the Shibuya station square. There were plenty of other places to check on, after all, and plenty of people who needed his attention. 

Besides, it was barely a week before the ultimatum he’d given the Phantom Thieves, the day when the actualization would become irreversible. He just had to hold out until then.


	5. Chapter 5

It took some time for Maruki to adjust to living a normal life again. He had no job to go to, nor research to continue, nor ambitions to pursue. He just kind of coasted along in a bit of a daze, getting used to how the world had changed when it reverted back to its unactualized state.

Slowly a general feeling of alertness started to return to his mind, and with it came regret. The realization of how terrible he’d been acting was gradually dawning on him, and eventually he decided he needed to do something to make up for it. This must be the “change of heart” that the other targets of the Phantom Thieves had experienced, and he could see why they felt compelled to confess to their crimes and apologize. 

However, it seemed that almost nobody remembered what Maruki had done, and no effects had remained. So even if he tried to confess, nobody would believe him or understand what he was saying. Quite likely the Phantom Thieves remembered, but he felt too ashamed of how he’d maltreated them to face them right now. Which meant there was only one other person he was reasonably confident would remember, and was additionally someone who he had personally wronged. 

Unfortunately, finding the young man in question meant either speaking to Amamiya again, or repeating the disgraceful behavior that incited the man’s well-earned ire in the first place. It took Maruki a couple of weeks to decide which of the two options he would regret less. Yet eventually he found himself spending large swaths of time standing near the Buchiko statue, scanning the passing crowd for one particular person.

It took a few days of waiting and watching before he spotted the familiar head of grey hair. For a moment he could only watch the young man weave through the crowds, before he gathered his courage enough to hurry over. When he was just out of arm’s reach, he swallowed once, then called out, “Um, excuse me, Narukami-san?”

The young man in question paused, then turned to see who had addressed him and said, “Yes?” He noticed Maruki was looking at him and just waited for a response. He showed no sign of recognition, and he was smiling and relaxed, a friendly expression on his face. Did he not remember the actualization after all? Or did he perhaps not know what Maruki looked like? Either way, his demeanor was quite different from every other time Maruki had encountered him.

Maruki must have been staring a bit too long, because Narukami prompted, “Can I help you with something?” And still he didn’t seem upset, just politely puzzled.

Mentally shaking himself out of his thoughts, Maruki responded, “Oh, um, sorry. My name is Takuto Maruki.” Immediately some of the warmth left Narukami’s eyes, though his expression and demeanor didn’t otherwise change. So perhaps he did remember after all. Hurriedly Maruki continued, “I wanted to apologize to you, and I was hoping I could speak to you a little.”

Narukami looked him over thoughtfully, then glanced at his watch and said, “Well I don’t have long, since I have somewhere to be soon. But I can chat for a few moments.”

“That’s fine,” Maruki agreed readily. “I certainly don’t want to inconvenience you.”

Nodding, Narukami gestured off to one side of the square. “Why don’t we get out of the crowd a bit, so it’s easier to talk.”

It was impossible to find a truly quiet place so near the scramble, but Narukami led the way until he found a spot near the edge of the square where the crowd was thinner. There was no place to sit, but Maruki doubted they would be standing around long enough to be bothered by the lack. 

They’d barely turned to face each other before Narukami said, “I’d like to apologize for how forceful I was during their last conversation. I was a bit on edge from being watched so much, but that was no reason to be threatening.”

Maruki was taken aback by this. He had never expected anyone would want to apologize to _him_. “What? Oh, no, you were more than justified,” he hurriedly assured. “I was behaving far worse. You were quite right, I was stalking you, invading your privacy, and probably would have attempted to manipulate you if it was at all possible. Once I’d seen you at your class, I tracked down a number of your professors, friends, and your landlord and spoke to them. There’s no excuse for my behavior, but I deeply regret it. I wanted to tell you how terribly sorry I am for everything I’ve done, to you and to everyone else I effected.” Then he bowed very deeply, his upper body nearly parallel to the ground, and held the position. 

He was prepared to stay that way as long as he physically could, but almost immediately Narukami said, “Please stand up. That’s not necessary and we don’t need people staring at us.” 

His fervent wish to show his sincerity briefly warred with his desire to not make the young man any more uncomfortable, before the latter won out. So he said, “Ah, if that’s what you’d like,” and slowly straightened up.

He couldn’t quite look Narukami in the face, so he kept his eyes on the ground instead. Which meant he couldn’t see the young man’s expression when he said in an even tone, “I can’t say I forgive you, but in the end there was no lasting harm done. Everything’s reverted to how it should be, and almost nobody even remembers, so it’s as if it never happened.”

Maruki’s shoulders slumped further at that. “I know,” he said miserably. “Nobody remembers, so nobody would understand if I tried to apologize, and nobody can hold me accountable.”

There was a pause, before Narukami carefully replied, “You do realize that there’s a certain group of teenagers who remember, right?”

Maruki nodded glumly. “I suspected as much. The people I’ve hurt the worst are the ones who actually remember. Between what I’d done to Yoshizawa-san, causing Amamiya-san such anguish over Akechi-san, and everyone whose dreams I’d granted only to have them ripped cruelly away...I fear words would not be enough to make up for what I did to them.” He swallowed against a sour taste in his mouth that was probably just his imagination and added, "I’ve been trying to come up with some way to make it up to them all. Leaving them alone is the best I can think of for the moment.”

He watched the toe of Narukami’s shoe tap once against the pavement before the young man asked, “If you’re choosing to leave then alone, then why did you decide to speak to me?”

Maruki heard that as ‘Why aren’t you leaving me alone, too?’ and cringed a little at the implied accusation. “W-well,” he began, a little unsteadily. “I did have one question for you. I know it’s terribly presumptuous of me to ask, and by no means do you have to answer, but I just kept wondering…” He managed to drag his eyes up to look in Narukami’s general vicinity, though he still couldn’t look him in the face and instead opted to stare off to one side. “...Why were you not affected by any of it?”

“Because I see the truth,” Narukami answered immediately.

“The...truth?” Maruki parroted, his brow furrowing in confusion. “I don’t understand. What do you mean? Why would that render you immune to everything I’d done?”

Narukami answered more slowly this time. “Well...I’m a lot like Ren. And I can do some things that most people can’t.”

That might be as close as he’d get to a confirmation that Narukami had a Persona, and if he mentioned Amamiya specifically, he might have more than one. But still…“Even he couldn’t pass through certain things or walk into Mementos, though.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Narukami shift his weight from one foot to the other as he replied, “I can also do some things he can’t. And like I said, one of them was seeing the truth. Everything you made was an elaborate lie, so none of it affected me. As for Mementos…” he paused, humming thoughtfully before continuing, “At that time it was so tied to the real world that I saw no barrier between the two. For me, stepping into it was like walking down any other hallway.”

Maruki hardly registered the bit about Mementos, because one part of Narukami’s answer had caught his attention. “A lie?” he repeated. He turned his bewildered expression to meet Narukami’s calm one as he asserted, “But everything I made was real, even if it was different from how things had been originally.”

Narukami shook his head slowly and answered, “No, it wasn’t real. It might have become so after the day you set as your deadline, but until then it was like a mass illusion, and I could always see the difference.” He fixed Maruki with a stern look and said, “You were delusional, and forcing everyone else to live in a delusion. And is that really a healthy way of dealing with your problems?”

Trying not to cringe again, Maruki replied, “I know that it’s healthier to overcome your problems on your own. But sometimes that’s just too painful. I...” he found the reasoning hollow even as he recited dully, “I wanted to help the people who couldn’t help themselves.”

“Oh its own, that’s not a bad goal,” Narukami said. “The fault lies in what you did about it. Not every treatment is suitable for every problem. Not to mention, performing any kind of treatment on someone without their knowledge or consent is unethical.”

Maruki had no way to deny that, nor any desire to do so, and just nodded moreosely. His head started drooping downward again, but paused when Narukami asked, “Are you feeling any different now that the borrowed power is gone?”

Maruki blinked rapidly several times in confusion, then met Narukami’s eyes again and asked, “What borrowed power?”

The young man studied him for a moment before noting, “So you weren’t aware.” He looked off into the distance and tapped a foot idly for a few moments, before apparently coming to a decision and turning his focus back to Maruki. “Well, it’s just a theory, but that group of teens thought that the leftover power from a false god of control had gone to you, which made your powers so much stronger. And if that’s true, then I think that might be why you had a desire to control everyone.” His expression softened from stern to something a bit more understanding, and he added, “It doesn’t really excuse your actions, but it gives some context.”

A...god? Really? Somehow, despite everything with cognitive worlds and Personas and other strange powers, it had never occurred to him that literal gods could be real. And if anyone else had said as much, it would still be utterly unbelievable. But since this man had been so adamant about the truth…“I will have to think about that,” he finally managed to say.

Narukami nodded, then glanced at his watch. “Now if you have no further questions, I really must be going,” he said.

Shaking himself out of his shock, Maruki said, “Ah, right. That’s all I wished to know. Thank you very much for your time.” Then he bowed once more, for good measure.

“Farewell,” Narukami replied, then walked off.

Maruki watched him go for a moment, then turned to head home. He was going to have to figure out how he felt about potentially having been influenced by a false god. It seemed the world was a far stranger place than he had ever expected. And now he had to find a new place in it.


End file.
